HEREDITY. 241 



negroes continue to produce negroes, copper-coloured men to 

 produce men of a copper colour, and the fair- skinned racea 

 to perpetuate their fair skins — besides seeing that the broad- 

 faced and flat-nosed Calmuck begets children with broad faces 

 and flat noses, while the Jew bequeaths to his offspring the 

 features which have so long characterized Jews ; we see that 

 those small unlikenesses which distinguish more nearly-allied 

 varieties of men, are maintained from generation to generation. 

 In Germany, the ordinary shape of skull is appreciably differ- 

 ent from that common in Britain : near akin though the 

 Germans are to the British. The average Italian face con- 

 tinues to be unlike the faces of northern nations. The French 

 character is now, as it was centuries ago, contrasted in sundry 

 respects with the characters of neighbouring peoples. Nay, 

 even between races so closely allied as the Scotch Celts, the 

 Welch Celts, and the Irish Celts, appreciable differences of 

 form and nature have become established. 



That sub-species and sub-sub-species, thus exemplify that 

 same general law of inheritance which shows itself in the per- 

 petuation of ordinal, generic, and specific peculiarities ; is 

 strong reason for the belief that this general law is unlimited 

 in its application. In addition to the warrant which this be- 

 lief derives from evidence of this kind, it has also the support 

 of still more special evidence. Numerous illustrations of He- 

 redity are yielded by experiment, and by direct observation of 

 successive generations. They are divisible into two classes. 

 In the one class come cases where congenital peculiarities, 

 not traceable to any obvious causes, are bequeathed to de- 

 scendants. In the other class come cases where the peculiar- 

 ities thus bequeathed are not congenital, but have resulted 

 from changes of functions during the lives of the individuals 

 bequeathing them. We will consider first the cases that 

 come in the first class. 



§ 81. Note at the outset the character of the chief testi- 

 mony. Excluding those inductions that have been so fully 



